Spider's Web
by Sakina the Fallen Angel
Summary: After making an emergency landing on present day Earth, Rose, the Doctor and Jack discover that everything is not as it seems…Strange things are happening, bigger events falling into place. Could they be caught in the spider's web? R n R please!
1. Chapter 1

My second Doctor Who fic! Hopefully this will take off...can't give too much away right now, but keep reading!

* * *

Spider's Web

It was another trip in the TARDIS. Captain Jack was in the corner, gazing out of the viewing panel whilst eating a sandwich and Rose was sat opposite the Doctor. Both faces were set in grim determination.

"OK," Rose said. "You ready?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Rock, paper, scissors…"

Both displayed their personal weapon of choice. Rose gave a crow of delight and punched the Doctor lightly with her 'rock'.

"Damn scissors!" The Doctor muttered. He straightened up. "Why are you so intent on playing this Earth game anyway?"

"Because I want to prove that this game does actually have a strategy," Rose replied curtly with a twinkle in her eye. "Rematch?"

"OK," the Doctor sighed, feigning defeat.

"Rock, paper, scissors-"

"Aha!" He crowed. "Paper beats rock!"

"How did you do that?" Rose cried in disbelief. "I saw your body language. You were definitely going for scissors again!"

The Doctor winked, tapping his nose. "Cheap Earth psychology. Wrote a few books myself. Anyway, there's no special strategy to this game- I should know, I brought it to you humans when you were busy learning how to blow each other up!"

Rose looked put off. "One more game…"

"Alright."

"Rock, paper, scissors-"

"Laser!" Jack cried.

"What?" Both the Doctor and Rose looked dubiously at him.

"Laser beats them all," he laughed. "No seriously, jokes aside, I think we're caught in the middle of an intergalactic crossfire. Take a look."

Rose ran to the viewing panel whilst the Doctor sprung towards the controls to his ship. They glowed and pulsated as he worked furiously to get the TARDIS to change her course.

A brilliant beam of light suddenly burst past them.

"Woah!" Rose's face lit up.

"Hmmm," Jack agreed, amid a mouthful of whatever it was he was eating.

"What is that?" Rose pointed to the sandwich.

"Ham-and-mustard-toffee-tomato-chicken-lime-lettuce-snazberry-kokolate-bean. Would you like me to make you one?"

Rose took in the swathing mass encrusted between two pieces of bread.

"Erm…no thanks. By the way Jack, you never told me this, but are you even human?"

Swallowing, Jack made as if to reply, but a sudden jolt in the TARDIS caused everyone to lose their balance.

A blue emergency light flashed on and off, and the Doctor grabbed hold of a lever to steady himself. "Erm…I shouldn't have pulled that…"

"What? What have you done?" Rose asked, worried.

"Brace yourself, crewmembers of the TARDIS, we are going travelling…" the Doctor announced, as suddenly the ship shot through space and time.

xXx

They landed in a place that was very familiar to Rose. Stepping out onto hard concrete, she could see that it was a typical warm day- fluffy white clouds sailed across the light blue sky, children played serenely in the park overlooking the fountain in the square. Graffiti was sprawled along a brick wall and a few scraps of litter tumbled about in the breeze.

"Know where we are?" The Doctor spoke in Rose's ear.

"Home!" She beamed happily. The Doctor allowed her to embrace him. "I was thinking of calling Jackie. How come we're here anyway?"

"The first co-ordinates that popped into my head," the Doctor smiled. "Quick thinking, that, or we'd have had to have some words with some aliens."

Jack popped his head out. "Nice work, Doctor." He winked at two passing old ladies, who blushed, going '_oh my_!' and fanning themselves. "I think I'm going to like it here." Donning a jacket, he added, "I have some catching up to do, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna go catch a few rays."

"You mean he's gonna go sunbathe," the Doctor grinned as Jack disappeared.

Rose however, looked slightly worried. "But will he be alright?"

"Oh, ol' Jack'll be OK. You know, a man like that." Rose smiled. "Now what was that about seeing Jackie?"

Linking arms, Rose and the Doctor set off.

xXx

When they arrived at Rose's house they found that the door was locked.

"Hmmm," Rose looked puzzled. "My mum normally tells me when she's going out."

The Doctor tapped Rose. "Your mother isn't normally three million light years away though is she?"

Giggling, Rose unlocked the door and went inside.

Indoors, the place was a mess. Rose knew she lived in a rough area, but it seemed as if the jungle had moved inside her own home. Tins of food lay scattered about amidst magazines and dirty plates, and in the living room washing that had probably been there for a while lay unfolded on the sofa.

"Jackie?" Rose called urgently. No reply.

The Doctor went back into the kitchen. Getting frantic, Rose rifled through the post that had collected on the table. They were all today's. Good news. At least her mum had been in today, even if she had abandoned all the other chores. Rose stacked the letters and went back into the kitchen.

The Doctor held a note in front of her. "Read this."

Taking the note, Rose read aloud:

"_Rose, if you happen to come home in the next few days I won't be in. I'm staying with Beth and her girl Anne, who's just fallen ill. The doctors can't find out what's wrong with her so she might have to go to hospital for further tests. Beth needs comforting right now- you know how it is, her husband left her, oldest son doesn't even want to know her- I'll try and come back as soon as I can.  
__Lot's of love, Jackie xxx_"

"That's OK then." Rose let out a sigh of relief.

"So, how about some food then?"

They rummaged in the kitchen for food. No such luck.

"Looks like it's your turn to go shopping then," Rose said, eyes sparkling.

The Doctor grinned. "Tea and biscuits?"

"McVities please," Rose replied. "You know how I love those."

xXx

The Doctor hummed to himself as he strolled down the rough neighbourhood. A few youths scowled at him; he merely waved cheerfully and they slunk off. Underneath his confident exterior was a much more worried Doctor. These trips with Rose had really been taking their toll on her; whether it was saving the world, facing death, evading death…each time afterwards though she looked stronger, inside he could see that she was more shaken than she'd ever admit. Though their friendship had bonded, he wasn't sure how far he'd take her anymore. He blamed himself for expecting too much of her. And he'd promised Jack that he'd help him find his memories; that too was a puzzle unto itself.

xXx

Waiting for her PC to boot up, Rose ran a hand through her hair. She'd hardly slept at all the last few days; every second had been a new adventure for her. Whether it was soaring through the deepest reaches of space, winging off an intergalactic war, or simply admiring an alien sunset, she knew she needed some time off soon to just get back to normal. That was why she'd been so glad to come home. It was as if the Doctor had known. She'd make sure to let him have an extra biscuit when he got back.

She connected to the Internet and scrolled through all her email messages. Oh how good it felt to be back at home. Months of junk email, a few odd ones from Mickey…

_How you doing? Remember to come home…_One from another friend- _Want to go to France sometime? _Random viruses- _Open the attachment…_Ones from random people-_ Lieratt Velmer_, _Dylan Bankston, Shadina_…probably more viruses.

She pressed delete, and settled back for some speed surfing, when-

There was a sudden crash, as if someone had tripped over the clutter in her house. A second later the Doctor burst into her room, out of breath.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"It's Jack!" The Doctor cried urgently.

There was no time for explanations. Taking one look at his face, Rose switched off her computer and dashed after him, leaving the front door wide open. On second thoughts, she locked her door as she did so. You never knew who might come scrounging around.

* * *

What has Jack been up to? Why is the Doctor so worried? Will Rose ever get her tea and biscuits? All this, and many other pressing questions will be answered in the next chapter! 


	2. Chapter 2

Personally I thought that this chapter sucked a bit, but I will leave it to you to make up your own opinions. Just point your eyes downward please, and don't forget to leave a review!

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Spider's Web II

"_Oi you!"_

Rose and the Doctor ran faster. Up ahead by the playground a scene was taking place. Pushing through all the bystanders, the Doctor elbowed his way to the front. Rose followed suit.

"Hello again!" The Doctor said brightly. "I'm back. Now where were we?"

"Ere Sandi, get back now! He's wot stole my bird!" One of the youths was accusing Jack. A surly looking gang of teenagers were advancing steadily on Jack, who had linked arms with two very pretty blondes. One of the youths had a knife out; Rose didn't doubt that other more exotic weapons were concealed beneath the hoodies.

"Look guys," Jack was saying, apparently not noticing the danger he was in. "Why don't we all have a bash? There's a bar down the road, isn't that right, Sandy?"

"It's Sandi with an 'i'," the girl on his left simpered.

"I'm not going to no bar until I get my Sandi back!"

"And my Tessa!" Another youth spat.

Adrenaline was beginning to pump through the air.

"_Fight, fight, fight-_" the crowd chanted.

"Come on," Jack flashed a smile. "I'm not gonna steal your babes. That's not my style. Instead-" he ran a finger up Tessa's thigh "-I share em'."

xXx

"Doctor," Rose said resolutely, "do something."

"Nah, ole' Jack here can sort this out for himself." The Doctor leaned against someone, who didn't look too happy.

"Then why did you bring me out here?"

"S'funny, you see."

Rose sighed in exasperation. She was going to tell the Doctor that she was going home, when she spotted the unmistakable gleam of a blade.

"But one of the kids has a knife!" Rose almost yelled.

"And Jack has a blaster," the Doctor teased her, enjoying this. There was a twinkle in his eye.

"Then where is it?" Rose shot back.

xXx

Suddenly one of the youths lunged at Jack. Sidestepping him, Jack twirled Tessa around, knocking the youth off balance as he did so.

This was the last straw.

With a yell worthy of the Guinness Book of War Cries the whole gang charged. Jack whooped. "Yeeha! Now I've got me an orgy!" Twirling and dodging at the same time, still holding onto the two dazed girls, the crowd watched amazed as two lads collided with one another, another one ran into a lamppost, and three more hit the floor.

"I haven't even got my blaster out yet," Jack winked at Rose. Blushing, her face suddenly contorted. "Behind you!"

"I love this dance," Jack sighed, doing a very tango like routine with Sandi. With another flip, he was suddenly face to face with the youth who had the knife. "Man, did your mother ever tell you that you have really nice eyes?" He plonked a kiss on his forehead. "If you screw them up they go quite well with the kick I'm about to deliver."

The crowd drew back with a sharp intake of breath as knife boy went down. Seeing that his friends were losing, a spiky brown haired guy broke free of the crowd and began to run away, but he'd only taken a few steps when he was bent double, clutching his chest. Wheezing, he turned fearful eyes towards Jack as he strode towards him.

"Get away from me!" The youth tried to get up, but had a sudden attack. He collapsed on the concrete pavement, pale and trembling.

The crowd was suddenly looking very apprehensive.

"Ok guys, shows over," Jack turned to the audience. "Who wants to end up explaining to the authorities that you all watched a gang of innocent lads get assaulted by a handsome young man and didn't do anything about it?"

There were murmurs. "Nope, didn't see a thing." The crowd scarpered, and it was just Rose and the Doctor left to attend the poor boy.

Still star struck from the wild dance, the two girls had to be shooed gently away. "Give me a call whenever," one of them blurted dazedly.

"Will do ma'am," Jack saluted.

"Good show," the Doctor congratulated, patting him on the back.

Jack feigned modesty. "Only the best. What were the odds?"

"Oh, from the point of view of a little human, I'd have said a million to one. But from the point of view of an alien knowing that you have a blaster and N-phaser stuck up your arse, I'd have said-"

"Look you two, can finish your weird alien bonding rituals elsewhere? This kid looks like he's about to have a convulsion." Rose was kneeling beside the boy; blonde locks shielding her face like a curtain. "Oh my God! It's Bobby."

The boy coughed weakly, spitting blood. "R-rose?"

"Still in school, kid?" The Doctor reached into his pocket and tossed the phone at Rose. "You shouldn't be playing with older boys like those. Don't know what kind of trouble you might get into."

"M-my brother…" he said weakly.

Dialling emergency, she gabbled their location whilst the Doctor went and picked up the knife, which still lay on it's side. A few minutes later, an ambulance pulled up and Bobby was loaded on as he broke into another fit.

Rose watched him being driven away, face full of concern.

"Do you want to go after him, see if he's OK?" The Doctor asked.

Rose nodded.

"Are you alright, Rose?" The wind was picking up; Jack put his leather jacket on again.

"Erm yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Rose shook away her tears.

"Come on," Jack put his arm around Rose.

As they walked towards the hospital, Rose swallowed, and spoke. "It just happened so suddenly, like everything was fine, then…it just made me think, that any time at all, every single minute, something could happen to me. We don't even know what's wrong with him yet- but he looked so scared, coughing up blood like that. One minute full of _life_…the next…"

"Stop gabbling." The Doctor murmured as he turned the knife over in his hands. Honestly, young humans these days. What would they think of carrying next? Subatomic particle blasters? Sharp pencils?

"-and the thing is, it's not like when we normally fight aliens and they die; I know that kid. He lives two houses away…he's only fifteen! We used to play out when I was younger. It's getting personal now!"

"Rose, you're getting hysterical!" Jack turned to the Doctor for support.

"Sorry, did I miss something?"

Rose shivered. Sometimes the Doctor could be so insensitive. It was like he didn't care. Didn't want to care, at the very least. All this time they'd been fighting aliens, she'd never given them a second thought. But when one person she actually knew went down, everything changed. She suddenly felt so sorry, for all the innocent people that had died during their adventures. All the people, that would never complete their brief existences. Just to be remembered as another bunch of statistics. Man, she really needed a break.

The Doctor slipped the knife into a mysterious pocket and glanced at the back of Rose. He didn't know what in the world had brought on this emotional outburst; humans were still so unpredictable. Looking at Jack, he felt a small twang of envy at the ex-conman; for all his vanity and flirtatiousness, he still understood human feelings. What it would feel to really lose someone you cared about…he couldn't remember… hid them behind his façade, his unique battered leather jacket, careful grinning face- he'd suppressed his real emotions for so long, he wasn't sure what to make of himself anymore. Maybe he needed to give Rose and himself some time off. He was right; all the travelling had been taking its toll on her. _As well as yourself_, a darker voice added.

The Doctor was spared from his broodings by their arrival at the hospital. A giant, grey building loomed up over them; barred windows making it look more like a prison than a hospital. A few roses grew in a makeshift garden, possibly someone's idea to make the place a little more colourful and pleasant looking.

Stepping inside, the place smelled of cheap disinfectant. A couple of rows of spindly chairs suggested a waiting area, and a bored looking receptionist sat at her counter, overlooking the entrance. In one fluid movement the Doctor had strolled right up to reception.

"Hello, I'm looking for a-"

"Bobby Lacey," Rose finished.

"Oh, and you are?" The receptionist peered at her from over her glasses.

"Friends," The Doctor said.

"One moment…oh, mail!" The receptionist clicked on her inbox. "Just junk, but all the same…" She looked puzzled.

"C'mon," Jack whispered, and the trio slunk away.

It didn't take them long to locate the right ward, and with a little persuasion the Doctor had managed to convince everyone that they were direct relatives of the kid. "Right, quick check to see if he's OK then we'd better leave," he said. "I still want my tea and biscuits. Oh, and they're finally showing that episode of Eastenders."

"You watch Eastenders?" Rose asked awestruck, despite her gnawing concerns.

"Don't be silly, Rose," the Doctor said. "I just want to see the bit where they kill the guy that rose from the dead. They haven't shown that episode in millennia since the robotic uprising in J'na-am!"

"Thanks for spoiling the plot Doctor," Rose said huffily, giving him a shove.

"Now now guys," Jack tsked. "This is neither the time nor place."

A quick check in on Bobby showed him to be just fine. On the way out, they saw Rose's mum Jackie sat on a plastic bench, underneath a depressing painting of a hospital ward.

"Mum!" Rose threw her arms around her mother.

"Hey love, what're you doing here?" Her mum had tired rings around her eyes, and her lipstick had smudged, giving her the appearance of a sad clown. Luckily the Doctor didn't make any comments.

"How do you do?" He nodded as way of greeting.

Jackie regarded him wearily for a moment, before nodding civilly back.

"Captain Jack Harkness ma'am," Jack bowed.

"Oooh, where did you meet this lad?" Jackie turned to Rose, faint smile tugging on her fatigued features.

"We came to check up on a kid," Rose murmured, letting go of her mother. "You look plastered! How are Anne and her mum Beth?"

Jackie sighed. "No one knows what's wrong with Anne, and Beth's been sobbing on my shoulder all night." Jack hastily removed his hand from Jackie's shoulder. "It's so frustrating, when all I want to do is to go home to sleep. Honestly, since you've gone, I've found I've gotten too soft hearted."

"Well I hadn't noticed," the Doctor muttered.

"Mum, do you want to go get a coffee?" Rose asked, glaring at the Doctor.

He stuck his tongue out in reply.

As Rose led her mother away the Doctor snapped to Jack- "Quick! Back to Bobby's room!"

xXx

After making sure no one was around Jack discreetly closed the door and pulled the curtain across the glass panes. The room was plunged into a gloomy space, silent except for the heavy breathing of the kid Bobby. Jack turned to see the Doctor waving the sonic screwdriver over the kid.

The kid was bathed in an unnatural blue light for a few seconds before the tip glowed red and beeped alarmingly, then settled.

"What's up?" Jack looked concerned.

"Oh nothing," the Doctor replied. "I'm just paranoid is all. The boy's fine- must be a fault with the screwdriver."

The Doctor placed his screwdriver back in his pocket and made his way carefully out of the room. Following, Jack gave the room one last sweep with his radar like eyes before gently shutting the door.

xXx

"-and then we were like, 'woah!' because," Rose stopped, face creased in laughter, "oh mum, you won't believe this- the next Mesopolaptar was like ten times bigger than the last one!" Rose wiped the tears from her eyes, looking to see how her mother would take this. Her laughter died as she saw the sad expression on her mum's face. After a few seconds, Jackie spoke. "It's alright for you, Rose, to be out there seeing all these…these new sights, but what about me? What about Mickey?"

"Oh mum," Rose moaned. "Don't do this to me. Not again!"

"When was the last time I saw you?" Jackie took Rose's hand and stared at her daughter. Before Rose could reply, Jackie said, "I mean _really _saw you. A few days? One year? Hundreds of years for you?"

Rose put down her coffee mug. "Then come home tonight."

"I want to, I really do," Jackie said, tears now in her eyes. "You've changed so much Rose, but I know there's no point in trying to make you stay now. And is there any reason why you won't dash off suddenly before nine o'clock to follow that new man of yours?"

"Men," Rose corrected.

"The one that says he's a Doctor, and the other one?"

"You mean me?" Rose and Jackie turned to see the Doctor and Jack emerge from the entrance to the hospital café.

"Yeah, mum was just saying how she was looking forward to really getting to know you guys tonight when she comes home, right?" Rose said enthusiastically, giving the Doctor the briefest of glares.

"Right," the Doctor said, preoccupied.

"Pleasure, ma'am," Jack said.

"So that's it then," Rose stood up. "You coming, mum?"

"Can't love, got to stay for a bit longer. Beth'll be needing a shoulder to cry on soon, and then there's the shopping, and the cleaning, and someone knocked over the litter bins outside again, and-"

"We'll take care of all that, won't we Rose?" The Doctor propelled Rose out of the café before she could reply.

xXx

As they were leaving through the foyer, a woman burst past them. She was sobbing; make up ran heavily down her tearstained face and she had to brush brown wispy strands of hair out of her eyes before she looked fit enough to address reception.

"My Robert, where is he!" She wailed.

The receptionist gave the Doctor and his companions a quizzical look as they waltzed past, trying not to catch anyone's attention.

The receptionist coughed. "Surname please?"

"Lacey. Mr Robert Lacey. B-bobby." The woman, Mrs Lacey murmured shakily.

"Just a minute please," the receptionist muttered, scrolling through records. She was breathing heavily. Suddenly her breathing turned into a hacking cough.

"Eurgh, germs," the Doctor said distastefully. "Could be everywhere."

Once they were outside back in the sun Jack turned to Rose. "What do you fancy doing now? We could go for a sunbathe, I'm sure a gorgeous lady like yourself could turn up the degrees even more at a few hotspots I know of."

Rose giggled. "Soz Jack, but my mum's coming home later on and I really need to tidy up the house. Just wait until you see how messy my house is!"

Jack looked at her; puppy dog eyes at the ready.

Rose folded her arms. "I am not falling for that one again. Do you remember the last time-"

"-in Hexamopolis when we got attacked by the Faeséll'rytes and-"

"-we ended up using the salad cream!" Both chorused, then broke into fits of laughter.

"So Doctor, what do you think we should do? Move onto another planet, or stay here?" Rose turned to the Doctor, but her smile faded as she saw how serious he looked.

"I wouldn't mind staying here for a bit longer, if you don't mind of course," the Doctor said thoughtfully, gazing into the distance.

"N-no, of course not," Rose said quickly.

The Doctor hummed and thrust his hand into his pocket, feeling at once the cold sharp tongue of the metal knife against his skin.

* * *

What is on the Doctor's mind? Can it be answered before teatime? Find out in the next instalment! 


	3. Chapter 3

Had some problems uploading this!

* * *

Chapter Three

"Why are we in a CD shop?" the Doctor asked.

Rose hummed, flicking through a rack of CDs.

"When we were supposed to be going shopping to buy food for your mum?" He gave her a searching look.

She finally looked up. "Well you know, seeing as we were in town an' all, I thought I might as well pick up a few extra bits an' bobs."

Jack held up his arms, which had sprouted shopping bags on the end. "Like two new pairs of jeans, five T-shirts, a hair straightening device and a tube of…zzzzzzz…" he squinted at the tube.

"Zit free cream OK?" Rose said hotly, snatching the tube off of Jack.

"Whoa missy! Hmm, Virgin," Jack picked up a brochure, noting the name of the megastore. "Well maybe I can change that…"

People were starting to give the trio weird looks.

"Ha! Exchange s-students, from very far away," Rose laughed nervously, shoving the two in the direction of the exit.

"Very," the Doctor nodded, smiling at another girl.

"Yes indeed," Jack agreed, nodding furiously.

"Argghh!" Rose practically tore out her hair roots. Those two were so…so un-Earth-like sometimes- they had absolutely no tact! Maybe she should've bought the food and just gone home. Her thoughts were interrupted by the change of background song, which blasted tinnily over the speakers.

_Like a serpent in the night,  
__He'll twist and entwine,  
__Until he has you wrapped around his finger-_

"Too loud!" Jack bellowed above the grating rock riff. The Doctor nodded, and they both dragged Rose out of the shop.

"What has music come to these days?" The Doctor grinned, shaking his head.

"I liked it," Rose said sulkily.

"C'mere you," the Doctor said suddenly, engulfing Rose in a bear hug. "Do you remember that instrument we found in that secret underground lair where the Dalek was being kept?"

Rose's face lit up. "Do I?"

"Now that's _real_ music."

xXx

The sky was awash with warm afternoon colours as the trio headed home. People would turn their heads at Rose and Jack's raucous laughter as the Doctor recounted the incident with the hairy toothbrush and all the while the sun shined and the day remained unnaturally warm.

xXx

"Perfect weather," Jack sighed blissfully when they reached Rose's home. From out of nowhere he produced a pair of sunglasses, and whipped off his shirt.

"Hey hey there," Rose murmured, eyeing Jack as she opened the door. Stepping over a few tin cans she plonked herself down on the sofa and stretched.

"Well, if no one needs me…" Jack was still stood in the doorframe.

The Doctor looked up from unpacking. "Oh no you don't! This is a respectable neighbourhood, you know."

"Fine." Jack sighed, pulling his shirt back on, to Rose's dismay. "Another time."

xXx

By seven they had managed to get the house looking somewhat more presentable, and now Rose was helping Jack as he bustled around in the kitchen. It seemed Jack had a flair for cooking. He'd whipped up a few exotic looking dishes-

"- the best cuisine in the galaxy! And all it took was a few favours to secure the recipes."

Rose decided to ignore this comment. Who knew what weird and wonderful new genders were out there, and how many of them Jack had given 'favours' to?

"Erm, Rose, why is the gravy jug so small?" The Doctor's voice called from the dining room.

Rose put down the half peeled potatoes and peered round the corner. Her eyes widened. "That's a candleholder dammit!" She yelled. "My dad bought my mum that!"

"Ooops…"

xXx

By the time Jackie arrived everyone was shattered. The weather was still scorchingly hot- Jack had retired outside and was checking out the local wildlife, shirtless, of course. Rose shook her head half heartedly as she dragged him back inside for dinner.

"You're the one that cooked it!"

"True, true."

Jackie was too tired to argue with the Doctor so everyone sat in a mutual silence whilst they ate. Until now Rose wasn't even sure if the Doctor did eat- come to think of it, she still wasn't sure. The food seemed to disappear right off his plate without him even touching it. He winked at her baffled expression.

The light mood of the dinner party seemed to carry into the evening, and it was with a great reluctance that Jackie said she would have to leave soon.

"Please mum, stay for a bit," Rose pleaded, but no, Jackie said she had to get back to checking on Beth.

"Why?"

"Oh look, darling," Jackie said fondly, "Beth was there when I needed her the most, so it makes sense that I should be there for her."

"But when…" Suddenly Rose remembered. "That other woman you were with when dad…" She stopped. Of course, Jackie didn't know. Jackie _couldn't _know.

Her mother regarded her strangely.

"Nothing mum," Rose said hurriedly.

xXx

It was after Jackie left that the Doctor removed his jolly façade. Jack was lying down on the sofa, dozing probably from sunburn whilst Rose was building a house of cards with the utmost care. The TV was playing in the background, the low hum of the news reporter delivering the latest reports coupled with the intense heat creating a dreamy hazy feel to the air.

_-temperatures have been sweltering over the last few hours- _

"Rose?" The Doctor asked.

"Hmmm?" Her house of cards shuddered.

"What if I was to ask you whether if you had a choice, you would do this?"

"Do what…?" Rose looked up, puzzled. He always spoke in riddles; that was part of who he was.

_a new pandemic has broken out throughout parts of the world, experts say_-

"Do this? You know, save the world, travel through space…?"

"Well you know what I'd say, you silly!"

The Doctor spoke carefully. "Well what if you didn't have a choice, like what if you were already involved, part of a chain of events?"

_flu like symptoms, but not quite sure yet_-

The house of cards collapsed. "What do you mean?"

Jack suddenly sat up. "Telepathic knife," he whispered, eyes wide.

"What?" Rose cried. By God she hated all these riddles!

_stock market has come crashing down due to_-

"I'm changing the channel."

"No wait!" The Doctor held up a hand. "I want to find out whether they've discovered the secret oil stash that's buried beneath the south of the Channel Islands yet." A minute later he relaxed- "Still safe", and Rose flipped to MTV.

"Now where were we?"

"Telepathic knife," Jack whispered again, hollow eyed.

_And before you're aware,  
__You fall into your own despair_

"Eurgh, that song again." The Doctor produced the knife from his pocket. The bone handle glistened in the evening sunlight. The tip was aimed at Jack's heart.

"Get that thing away from me!" He dived behind the sofa.

"Woah, what's the big deal?" Rose said, turning down the volume. "It's only a knife. Hey, isn't it the one that that kid who attacked Jack had?"

Jack whimpered.

"What's so special about it?"

The look on the Doctor's face told her that this was very serious indeed. "Go on Jack, seeing as you seem to know about this."

Taking a deep breath, Jack raised himself from behind the sofa and eyed the knife nervously. "Telepathic knife. Made from "Mortifera-Susurronium" roughly translates as 'deadly whisper'. The metal is extremely rare, in fact it can only be found on three sources in the chartered universe." The Doctor stroked the blade, watching it glint malevolently. "You really don't want to be around when someone has a telepathic knife. The knife picks up on all your thoughts, and is the perfect weapon for crimes. If you have the right elements, you can upgrade it into a Psychic Knife and then you're in deep trouble."

Rose had been listening in hushed tones. "How come you know so much about this?"

"When I was training to be a Time Agent, there were all sorts of things we had to cover. Hey Doc, weren't they banned?"

The Doctor smiled. "You tell me."

"Illegal since 126233 Universal Time, anyone found in possession of one suffers a whole ream of punishments blah blah. We had to do a recovery operation once, and believe me it wasn't pretty. After that I could sense them a mile off…but I never thought I'd sense one again…"

"But what is one doing here? On Earth?" Rose blurted.

The Doctor stood up. "Precisely what I need to find out."

"Oi, take me with you!" Rose demanded.

"Rose, I'm only going to the TARDIS," the Doctor said.

"Well will you check up on the weather patterns too, Doc, cos it's almost eleven right now and the sun is still melting my pants off!" Jack laughed.

The Doctor slid the knife back into his pocket.

xXx

"Well, it looks like it's back to the news," Jack said, flipping the channel. "Oh my God Rose, you won't believe what's on right now…"

The Doctor slipped out into the yard. There was something strange going on- he could feel the beginnings of a net being spun. And the longer he put it off, the deeper he'd fall into the web. He wiped sweat from his brow. Man, since when did it get this hot in England ? Producing the TARDIS key, he hummed as he approached his travelling machine, never noticing the blue sheen until it was too late.

There was a massive flash of blue light, and he was thrown violently across the concrete ground. Moaning, he clutched his head and sat up. It was then he noticed the burn mark on his jacket.

Rose burst out of her house and tore into the yard. "Doctor, you'll never believe what…" her voice trailed off as she saw the Doctor staring thoughtfully at his time machine. There was a burn mark on his sleeve.

"Someone knows about the TARDIS."

"What?" Rose asked. "How?" She reached her hand out to touch the machine, but there was a sudden blue flash and she was sent sprawling. "Oh."

This time there was a quaver in the Doctor's voice. "Someone knows alright, and they're trying to stop me from getting into my TARDIS."

* * *

Like? 


	4. Chapter 4

Don't worry- the next chapter will be more action packed- this one is just an explanatory one to fill y'all in!

* * *

Chapter Four

Rose sat up with a moan, rubbing her head as Jack burst out onto the hard cobbles, face beaded with perspiration. "Guys, you won't like what just came up on the TV."

"Anymore then you won't like that someone knows about the TARDIS?" The Doctor turned to face him, showing off his burns.

Jack paled in the dim light. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that the TARDIS isn't in one of her most friendly moods right now. What came up?"

"Woah, slow down here. The TARDIS is never in an unfriendly mood, right?" Jack eyed them both. "Has someone-" he leaned forward until he was almost touching the walls of the TARDIS and waved his hand slowly across his face. "Nope, not low level-"

"Just drop it alright?" The Doctor said irritably. Grabbing both Rose and Jack he practically dragged them back in.

Rose and Jack shared a look. The Doctor was never touchy; even when he'd been suspended over the pit of lava with the mutant Xepoctl he'd still remained cool. But this was the TARDIS. This was personal.

"Now tell me what it was you saw on this…TV," he said, not being able to find a better word to describe a TV. "And can somebody turn off the radiator, it's flippin' high summer!"

"Erm," Jack coughed nervously. "Basically…" he reached into a pocket and whipped out a very complicated looking remote. Pressing a big red button, the TV flicked on.

"_- where patients are being kept under close observation, having remained in a state of suspended animation for the past few hours. More reports are incoming, and medical experts appear to be baffled –_"

"Freezes moving pictures," Jack winked in response to the thud of Rose's jaw on the carpet. Looking more serious, he turned to the Doctor. "They're gonna talk about the symptoms of every patient soon, how they're all the same as each other…sounds familiar?"

Everyone remembered that time in London during the Second World War.

"But…how?" The Doctor murmured.

Rose was looking confused. "Couldn't this just be an ordinary thing, you know, like the cold or AIDs or something?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Rose, m'dear, you know just as well as I do that the cold came from outer space."

"Why else do you think no one's found a cure for it yet?" The Doctor piped up, eyes still clouded in thought. "The knife…pieces of a puzzle that don't fit…"

There was a sudden wail from outside.

"Uh oh, ambulance," Rose muttered. Everyone gazed at the frozen picture of the lifeless bodies on screen, and coming to the same conclusion ran outside.

The commotion was near Mickey's house in fact. Everyone had gathered out to watch a middle aged woman being carried away, face contorted in agony. Though people were expressing deep sympathy, Rose couldn't help notice the fear in their eyes and how they regarded everyone around them with suspicion.

Jack shook his head. "Soon the government'll be issuing out quarantines."

"Honestly, if it were that easy to catch then surely all of us should be infected by now, eh?" The Doctor said brightly, turning to the crowd. His face turned darker. "No, there's something else at stake here, some sort of selection or predisposition that someone must have if they're gonna be at risk to this. It's not your cold anymore, it's war."

"Rose! Doctor!" It was the unmistakable sound of Mickey as he pounded round the corner. "Rose!" He embraced her in a hug, before turning to the Doctor with accusing eyes. "Alright, who is it now? I knew it was something to do with you. Whenever you're here something happens, something weird."

"What?" The Doctor asked innocently, eyes twinkling though his face remained grave.

"This! All these people turning into zombies, and the freaking weather! I mean, one's bad enough, but two at the same time!"

The Doctor's face twitched. "Of course…" Spinning a distraught Mickey around, the Doctor said, "Mickey, do you mind if we nip over to your house for a bit?"

Without waiting for a reply, he shoved Mickey down the road and beckoned for Rose and Jack to follow.

"What's gotten into the Doctor?" Jack asked Rose in an undertone.

"Well, for someone who's just lost their TARDIS, he's taking it pretty well," Rose replied. They sprinted down another street that was being illuminated in a warm orange street-lamp glow, though there was no need as the sun's rays showed little sign of disappearing along with the heat. There was no sign of life outside; it seemed everyone was too frightened of the new pandemic to come out.

"Makes a change," Rose muttered as they arrived at Mickey's porch. Mickey's house looked similar to Rose's- there was nothing special about it at all- rundown garden, worn out red paint on the door. The Doctor was already inside the living room and had already asserted himself as leader of the pack by issuing out instructions, as to what tea he liked and how he liked it.

"Remember, one sugar not two, and you have to stir it twice clockwise then once anti, then seventy five degrees in the direction of Saturn rising but remember, one sugar, definitely not two or was it three-"

Mickey poked his head round the door and threw a spoon at the Doctor's head. "Tell you what, why don't you make it yourself?"

Rose and Jack stared on, dumbstruck. "Well don't just stand there staring at me dumbstruck, someone switch the telly on there's a good man Jack, and Rose, if there are any biscuits-"

"Alright!" Rose's interjection sliced through the air like a knife through butter. Standing up, she practically screamed at the Doctor- "We know someone's done something to your bloody TARDIS! People are dying out there and all you can do is worry about whether your tea is being stirred fifty degrees to the north or not!"

"Actually they're not technically dying seeing as they are in a state of suspended animation-"

Rose fumed.

There was silence for a few seconds broken only by the news reporter showing a map of the world with the areas not to go on holiday to in red.

" Ethiopia , Tibet , Washington , Cape Town , Perth , England …" Jack recited quietly. He suddenly turned pale and his hands looked a hell of a lot clammier than they did a second ago. "Dammit Doc, I can feel thePsychic Knife nearby."

"What's going on?" Mickey asked.

"What connects all those people, what connects all those places?" The Doctor muttered. He did a double take. "Knife? Here?"

"N-not here," Jack's teeth were chattering, despite the oppressive heat. "Nearby. I think the guy that owns it must live close."

"How do you know?" Rose asked curiously; Mickey had just switched off, apparently deciding it would be best to find out what was going on later. Plus, he wasn't going to let his pride be dented just because Rose's new man had just ignored him.

"Psychic bond, I was the last target. Once the knife has established connection, you can feel it's cold tang inside your head…knowing that it will never rest until it has found you…" his voice dropped to a whisper, and Rose could see the shadows under his eyes. "Unless it's reissued with new instructions or has a new owner, which is really difficult as it has to be subject to all sorts of weird alien rites…"

"So basically you're a marked man unless we can gain possession of the knife," Rose said, feeling Jack's morale droop.

"Well, I'm gonna go check my email before I go to bed," Mickey said brightly, making a move as if to stand up when suddenly he was stopped by the Doctor.

"This is just a wild stab but…DON'T open any more emails!"

"Why?" Mickey asked, alarmed.

"Can't you see? That's how it's happening!" It was as if someone had flicked a light switch on in the Doctor. He even forgot about his surreptitious rubbing of the burns on his jacket as he launched into his explanation. "We've been going about this the wrong way, we've been looking at it biologically, but there are so many other ways that it could spread, ways that you humans haven't developed yet- no offence to the human race, oh almighty everything that is god and good, but…"

"Apart from biological? What do mean, other ways of spreading disease? Psychological?" Rose frowned, eyebrow raised.

"Off to a start, is our Rose." The more he got into his explanation, the more animated his actions became. "So you see, it's essentially like that film The Matrix, though they stuck in too many special fx and completely missed the point but never mind how the world was created I could take you to see that anytime you want-"

"Slow down Doc!" Both Jack and Rose grabbed hold of an arm.

"Alright." The Doctor stopped, a grin spreading across his face. "What is it that connects a lonely farmer in…say Zimbabwe to a merchant on the Pacific Ocean or even a businessman in London ?"

"Erm…the fact that they're all people?" Rose ventured.

"The fact that they're not aliens?" Jack quipped.

The Doctor gave them both a 'har har' look. "Very funny. If you were anywhere in the world and you needed-"

"Wait!" Rose interrupted. "I think I've got it. Communications. Emails. Computer viruses."

"That's right, bang on." The Doctor beamed.

"Technology, why didn't I think of that?" Jack banged his fist on the TV. "Too advanced, definitely alien…"

The Doctor waited for everyone's reaction.

"Why couldn't you just tell us?" Both Rose and Mickey burst out, annoyed.

"Oh, why can't anybody be happy?" The Doctor said in a way that reminded Rose of a pouting child.

The blood suddenly drained out of Jack's face. "I just remembered something," he said in a hushed whisper. "The Psy-chic Kn-nife. Originated from the Striker Empire on Asinistra Four…"

"Asinistra Four?" The Doctor murmured. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"It shouldn't," Jack gulped. "It doesn't exist anymore."

xXx

Somewhere, sometime away, a shadowy figure reclined in a plush armchair, made by the best upholsters in all the seven empires. The figure inspected blood red nails that were oddly reminiscent of poison and picked up a tall crystal flute that was standing on a table nearby. Taking a sip of the contents, the figure sighed contentedly and watched the proceedings that were taking place on a distant planet a million miles away from home.

* * *

Sorry if this sucks- I was in such a hurry to update, that I probably missed out loads of plot. Anyway, hope it keeps you interested and don't forget to check this space for the next installment of the Spider's Web!


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry it's taken so long to update, I kinda had a bout of Writer's Block on this fic. But now I'm sorted- I think- so the next chapter shouldn't take so long! Thanks for reviewing so far everyone- cookies for all!

* * *

Chapter Five

The Doctor and his companions made an odd group as they walked down the empty street, gloomy street lamp after another alighting their faces under a clear sky. The sun had finally set, though it didn't seem to be taking the oppressive heat along with it.

"But that's mad!" Rose threw her arms up in despair, glancing at the Doctor. "So you mean to tell us that we are being infected with a virus that transmits itself electronically?"

"A computer virus," the Doctor corrected.

Mickey looked stupefied. "That ain't possible, our bodies aren't wires and metal machines! We're living flesh!"

"You're forgetting that machines can work in similar ways to humans," Jack said knowingly. "What are nuts and bolts between flesh and blood? Nothing really when you come down to it. Just because one is 'alive' and the other isn't. Sometimes I still wonder when you humans are gonna rewrite the definition of the word 'alive'."

"So…what you're saying is…the computer virus is entering our bloodstream like it does to the network in a computer?" Mickey grimaced, still trying to get his head around everything.

The Doctor patted him. "Yeah, small correction. The virus isn't entering the bloodstream. It's travelling through the nerves."

"So it must be transmitting electronically…the way a normal computer virus does," Rose finished. She beamed at the proud look in the Doctor's eyes, before her face darkened. "So who made a scan to check for other alien technology?" She looked pointedly at Jack and the Doctor.

"I thought you did." Both pointed at the other before gulping.

"Well it's too late now for that," Mickey said sarcastically.

The Doctor muttered, head in hands. "I should've known…those co-ordinates weren't random…we could've made a stop anywhere…but here of all places…"

Rose's face fell slightly. "So what do we do now?"

"First, we-" Jack began.

"We fix the TARDIS." The Doctor's eyes were steel.

Mickey stopped, face hardening. Rose could sense a stand off about to take place. "Wait a minute…did I just hear you correctly? You want to fix your machine?"

"TARDIS," the Doctor said.

"But what about all those people in hospital?"

"Well they're not gonna go anywhere are they?" The Doctor retorted, smiling thinly. "A few hours won't make any difference."

Mickey folded his arms. "Don't you even care about what happens to them?"

"The TARDIS is most important right now," the Doctor said, tight-lipped, end of story. Both were staring at each other, challenging to see who'd back off first.

"Oh, so you're gonna watch all those people die whilst you fix your stupid machine and waltz off to another friggin' place. What the hell is wrong with it anyway?"

"Guys…" Rose said nervously.

The temperature lowered ever so slightly.

"Seeing as you're so interested in what's wrong with it, why don't you go fix it. Go on, see what your feeble mind can make of it, eh? Stupid ape," he said, turning away in disgust.

Mickey's eyes were aflame with wildfire. "Fine." The word was articulated quietly, but with just enough force to make everyone take notice.

"What?" Everyone reeled back.

"I said I'd fix it," Mickey said quietly. "Prove myself to you, huh? That's what it's like every time, isn't it? Well we'll see what 'stupid Mickey' can and can't do." And with that, he stalked off, leaving everyone with their mouths wide open.

"Jack, will you go with him and make sure he's OK?" Rose asked, after she'd gotten over the shock of Mickey's turbulent exeunt.

"Jack, will you actually make sure he knows where he's going? And try to find the Knife too," the Doctor added. "After you've fixed it, set the TARDIS on auto and go look for us. I have a feeling we'll be travelling far tonight."

Jack flashed his trademark smile and saluted, "aye, aye Captain," before hurrying off after Mickey. Rose watched him turn the corner before she turned her attention back to the Doctor.

"What was that all about?"

The Doctor shrugged. Rose raised an eyebrow, hands on hips.

"Well Mickey needs to be in his best shape if he's gonna have half a chance of fixing the TARDIS."

"But Jack's going with him."

"Exactly, the more the merrier." Rose gave him a penetrating stare. "Come on, let's get back and try to find out more about this virus. I have some very interesting questions that can't be answered by hanging around street corners." And with that, he dragged Rose off home.

xXx

Blue electricity crackled as Jack was thrown back. "Dammit! I need to know what I'm dealing with!" Rubbing his forehead he muttered- "Some kind of shield, can't be standard…seen it before…"

Mickey tentatively reached his hand forward and sparks shot out again. "Owww! Are all force fields like this?" He winced. "Computer games have certainly got it right."

Jack observed blue sparks dancing across the ripple effect of the force field and slapped himself. "Of course, that's why it looks familiar!"

"What?" Mickey asked dubiously.

"This force field. You have it on all your Earth games…and we all know the galaxy's advanced since these type A shields were created." Mickey looked lost. "OK," Jack said more slowly, as if he were reciting from a manual for dummies. "If anything has just been invented on Earth, then it probably means that we had it a few hundred years ago."

"Hey, you calling us Earthlings retarded?" Mickey said defensively.

"In more words," Jack shrugged. "OK, this force field is crude. There's no point in us trying to figure out how to take it apart-" Mickey opened his mouth –"-we don't have the technology for it…it's all locked in this baby." Jack slapped the TARDIS, before he realised what he'd done and was thrown back to the ground in a shower for sparks. "So," he picked himself up, and continued as if nothing had happened, "we go to option B. Break through the force field with sheer power."

"What? You mean like get a tank or something and ram it?" Mickey was looking more stupefied by the minute.

Jack's eyes sparkled. "Exactly."

xXx

The Doctor had been unsuccessful in his attempts to get at the virus from a distance, and was unwilling to subject himself to it.

"You know, in case I'm affected too, not that I will be of course. Body ship shape, but best not to take chances," he said, tapping his chest.

"Wait a moment Doctor," Rose murmured, staring at the computer screen. A whole truckload of virtual mail was sitting on her virtual doorstep and she knew that all of them would be carriers of the virus. "You say you want to find out how the virus works, but you don't want to open it yourself? Then how about getting someone who's already infected with it?"

It was as if the sun had risen. "Of course, Rose! I knew I recruited you for a reason!" He danced gleefully to avoid a swing from Rose before he grabbed her arm and- "to the hospital!"

xXx

"What do we do when we've found out more about the virus?" Rose puffed.

"Then we track down who is responsible. People on Earth aren't ready for this yet; this technology is centuries ahead. Oh, and we'd better find the Knife too," the Doctor added as an afterthought.

"Jack's got that sorted," Rose blurted, struggling to keep up with him. Boy, when the Doctor got going, he really did get going.

They swung past an empty playground, slide and swings illuminated by the last dregs of the setting sun. The Doctor had finally taken off his jacket in response to the heat, and as they neared the gloomy modern complex that was the hospital, he wiped his forehead.

"Can't you do something about your summers?" He asked, fanning himself.

Rose had finally caught up with him. "Doctor," she began hesitantly, twirling a strand of hair. "You know I was wondering, how hot it is…"

"Then go and take your clothes off," he interrupted bluntly. "Oh, and yes, the virus is what's responsible for this heat. Anything electronic is bound to come up against a lot of resistance. And friction equals heat, voila!" Without waiting for a reply, he said, "quickly see if anyone in here is actually conscious."

Ten minutes later and the disappointed look on Rose's face said enough. The hospital had been sealed especially for these patients, and not one of them was conscious- in fact, they were all in the same lifeless state.

"Remind you of a past experience?" The Doctor murmured.

"God yeah, I still have nightmares over that," Rose laughed, but stopped when the Doctor strode off purposefully down a corridor. "Hey, where're you going?"

Catching up, she saw him about to enter a curtained room that looked no different from any of the others. She saw him press an ear to the door, and with a look of satisfaction, went inside. She went up to the room herself, and peered in to see what all the fuss was about.

Someone was lying on the bed. But what was so special about this person? It took Rose a minute to register the faint beeping noise. The Doctor pointed to the person's hand and Rose saw that it was holding a small device with a button. The person's thumb jabbed feebly onto the button repeatedly; in response a faint beeping emitted from it.

"Must be a nurse calling device," The Doctor muttered. "The battery's worn down. No wonder, if he'd been pressing it that many times."

The figure seemed to have registered their presence. He tilted his head towards Rose and croaked, "water."

Rose froze. "B-bobby? Is that you?" She edged closer, and…yes, it was Bobby! But why was he conscious, unlike the others?

"Rose, we've no time for this. Can't you see the boy's dying? Get him some water, quick!" The Doctor ordered. He bent over Bobby, and carefully removed the sheets covering him. He ran his sonic screwdriver over Bobby, and clicked his tongue in satisfaction.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Rose had returned with the water. She helped Bobby into a comfortable position before tipping the water down his throat.

"Thanks," he rasped. Beads of sweat lined his forehead and his once spiky brown hair was now sticky as the gel ran down. His face was as pale as ever, and though his temperature was sky high he still shivered.

"What's wrong with him," Rose whispered to the Doctor. "Why isn't he like the others?"

"Before he became totally unstable I ran my sonic screwdriver over him- this was when you were with Jackie," the Doctor explained. "I came across an anomaly, and the screwdriver must have neutralised it- it beeped red to show that it did detect alien cells. The screwdriver must have caused the virus to freeze, and so Bobby became stable. At least he won't be deteriorating any further for now," he added cheerfully.

"Great," Bobby muttered, eyeing the Doctor warily.

"Right lad, you're coming with us." The Doctor moved towards the bed, but Rose stopped him first.

There was a look of horror in her eyes. "What! We're gonna use him?"

"Use me for what?"

The Doctor patted him on the head, before hastily wiping his hand, "Don't worry, Bobby you'll be fine…well as fine as you are right now."

xXx

They'd transported him home by wheelchair, and as he was too feeble they also carried him up the stairs.

"Boy, you must feel like the King," the Doctor muttered as he lowered Bobby onto Rose's bed.

"Yeah," Bobby answered back, "if…I didn't feel like throwing up or dying at the same time." A rattling cough followed which shut the Doctor up for a bit.

"Here we are," Rose flourished, as she connected up to the Net and loaded her emails. "All ready and prime for inspection."

"Wait a minute…" The Doctor's frown deepened as he scrolled down the screen. "Who did you say these were from…?"

"Well," Rose bit her nails, "a load are from this _Lieratt Velmer_, but some others are from a Mattie Levlert-"

"And they are all from a Time Traveller," the Doctor finished smoothly. He folded his arms and waited for Rose's reply.

"What?" Rose seemed to be saying that a lot recently.

"Simple. Anagrams."

It dawned on her. "Holy…" she whispered. "They knew all along, they were playing games right from the start-"

"And that's why we need you Bobby, as soon as possible." The Doctor had filled Bobby in on the story as they'd wheeled him home; now with the Doctor's help he was sitting upright and facing the screen.

"So what do you…want me to do," he coughed, "open it? Like we all did?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, looking solemn.

"Then…here…we go," Bobby murmured, and clicked.

Suddenly the screen was filled with random numbers and data, and a warning flashed on screen.

WARNING! YOU HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH A VIRUS, WARNING!

"Literally, too," the Doctor said in sympathy.

A beam of blue lightning zapped from the computer to Bobby. He screamed in agony as the beam went coursing into his system. "It d-didn't…do this…be-fore!" He gasped.

"So there have been developments," the Doctor muttered. "It mutates." He studied the screen of randomly flashing numbers, and suddenly he typed in something far too quickly for Rose to see, and yelled, "grab onto Bobby!"

"What have you done?" Rose cried as she took a hold of Bobby's arm.

"I reversed the instructions that's what," the Doctor answered. "The virus must've been transported from somewhere, so all I've done is reverse it so we go to where _it_ came from." He screamed as suddenly the lightning zapped him.

"Here we go!" Rose yelled as a portal opened up in the screen, pulling them, dragging them in. This was it.

"_Welcome_," a female voice whispered as the Doctor and Rose logged on and entered the Spider's Web.

* * *

Woah, that was long! At least, now here come the action scenes! Stay where you are, and thanks for reviewing! 


	6. Chapter 6

This was slightly rushed...but here we go! And thanks for being so patient, love you all reviewers!

* * *

Chapter Six

They materialised in the back of a proverbial closet. Actually, deep in a gloomy back cavern seemed more appropriate but it was basically the same thing. Peering out from behind a giant slimy rock, Rose thought the aliens could've chosen a better place for their den, but on looking closer, she could see no sign of life anywhere. The steady drip of a stalactite echoed emptily around the cave, echoing her empty thoughts.

"Isn't this fantastic?" The Doctor beamed.

She glanced at him listlessly. "What is?"

"This!"

"How is it, Doctor? We've been led on a dead end, again." Rose scowled, banging a fist on the damp slimy wall. She quickly withdrew her hand.

The Doctor was still grinning from ear to ear. "No we haven't, but shall I tell you why this is so fantastic? Because who would've thought that the last hiding place of the Striker Empire would be on or should I say _in_ a meteorite?" He didn't wait for Rose's mouth to drop open in astonishment. "Perfect hiding place. Small density, pocketed with holes, in fact a whole network of underground passages. Kind of like a honeycomb-"

"-or catacombs," Bobby murmured darkly, spluttering a cough.

"Yeah, and due to the composition of this meteorite it would be hard to detect if there was any life in it, which would be made harder by the technology of the Striker Empire. I wonder how much of Asinistra Four was really destroyed?"

The Doctor muttered something indecipherable before striding off to explore. "Careful now Rose, these Asinistrans sound very dodgy from what Jack's said."

"Wait, Doctor, what about Bobby?" She indicated the prone helpless boy, lying in an awkward position. He lifted his head gingerly and gave them the briefest of smiles.

"You go, go save the world," he murmured listlessly. He shuddered as a spasm wracked his body. "I'll…be safe here…no one around…to find me…" His eyes dulled and his breathing settled.

"Poor boy," the Doctor leant against the wall, eyes closed. "Must need to shut down his whole system so he can fight the virus." He sighed, and there was real pain in his expression, almost if he was feeling what Bobby must have been suffering right now. "But it will be a losing battle, and no matter how prolonged it is, he will end up like all the others, and there is nothing that we can do…"

Damn him! Rose thought. Why is he wallowing in misery? What does he have to be miserable about, she mused wonderingly.

"…until we get to the bottom of this mess and sort it all out!" He looked up, and the light was back in his eyes, brighter than before, only now it burned with a fiery resolve. "You heard the guy- he'll be safe for now, so let's go!"

Rose followed him, and together, they advanced down a tunnel- chosen entirely by random, Rose suspected. The Doctor was right in what he'd said about the place being like a honeycomb.

xXx

"Sweet!" Mickey crowed as Jack turned into the street driving a fully equipped Rhino. The tank was state of the art, newly commissioned by so and so, and it was loaded will full on military artillery.

"Borrowed it from the museum up north!" Jack called. "We'd better be quick, I don't think the cops are best pleased!"

Mickey shook his head as Jack switched the engine off. He didn't need to shout now to make himself heard. Jack climbed out of the tank and jumped to the ground catlike, before getting up to admire his personal taste in military extravaganza.

"That's a threat to national security," Mickey shook his head, eyes full of wonder. He stroked the cold hard metal, and he looked as if Christmas had come early.

Jack laughed to himself. Mickey was still just a little kid.

He turned to the TARDIS, careful this time not to touch the time machine. "Come on now, let's crack this baby!"

xXx

The engines roared as Jack turned the ignition, giving the tank all she had. Reversing slowly, until he had the TARDIS in his line of sight, he gave Mickey the thumbs up. "Get the hell away from here now!"

Mickey nodded, and ran down to the other end of the street. Under the dim street lamps, he was sweating. From the weather or sheer excitement, he didn't know. It had been so long since he'd really felt anything, but he wasn't going to let himself get carried away. No matter what, the Doctor and that Jack guy were still dangerous- every time that phone box showed up it meant trouble, and Mickey had no intention of cutting his life span short of fifty years. Safe behind a wall, he peeked out and prayed that everyone was too preoccupied with the weird new disease or the heat wave to notice.

Jack pushed a button and the weapons lined themselves up with the TARDIS in a screech of metal. No! He didn't want to blast the thing. Pressing what he assumed to be cancel, his mouth opened in horror as the guns opened fire on the TARDIS.

Hit cancel dammit! The whine of bullets ceased immediately as Jack, after trying five different buttons, managed to get the right one. Appropriately, it had been marked STOP. Sighing, he wiped away beads of sweat and ignored Mickey's "_what the hell do you think you're doing?_" and concentrated. From where he was sat, the forcefield seemed to have not taken the slightest damage. But, the guns had been low grade.

It was time to ram the baby. Surely people would've noticed him by now, so there was only one thing for it. Grinning insanely, he hit the gears and the tank rolled.

Picking up speed, Jack counted silently to himself- 5…4…3…please work…2…1…his eyes widened…BAM!

In a shower of blue sparks the force field yielded to what must've been at least ten tonnes, and with an eerie screech tore open, disintegrating immediately.

"Phew, that wasn't so hard," he chirped, emerging from the tank.

Mickey climbed over the wall and bounded to the TARDIS. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah." Jack ran a hand through his hair.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you gonna go and save the world?"

In the sleepy orange light, Jack hesitated before replying. "Yeah…but there's something else I need to take care of first…"

Mickey stared at him. "You mean that Knife thing you guys were going on about earlier?"

Jack nodded gloomily, storm clouds over his head. "I'm a marked man, I keep sensing on it's presence nearby…and I just feel so _cold_."

"Tell you what," Mickey murmured. "You're slightly nicer than that weird Doctor guy…I know a few toughs around here, so I can help you look for it…but first you got to get that tank out of here!"

"Oh," Jack mumbled sheepishly. He hoisted himself back up, and was about to climb in when Mickey cut through.

"Say, you know the weather, do you think it's related to that alien disease?"

Jack smiled thinly. "I don't think it, I know it. The virus is electronically based, and what happens to electricity? The more resistance it meets, the more friction is produced, and friction equals heat. Every time the virus spreads, it's heating uo the atmosphere."

"Don't you think we should tell the Doc?"

"No need, he'll have figured it out ages ago."

xXx

The tunnels were becoming more and more lifelike, as if these ones were more often used. The darkness had been replaced by a subtle glow that seemed to be emanating from the walls themselves.

"Fungus," the Doctor grunted. Rose sometimes wondered if he was really psychic or not. "Creates it's own self sustaining atmosphere- reason why we…_you_ haven't shrivelled up and died yet. I wasn't sure until we reached here."

Rose was slightly taken back. "You mean you didn't know whether we were going to live or not when we fell out of that vortex?"

"Well…not really. But we did, right?" The Doctor beamed, disregarding Rose's scowl.

Inside, she knew…well she hoped that the Doctor was just being…well himself, and that he really did know what was going on because she sure as hell didn't. So consumed by her thoughts she was; that she didn't see where she was going until she tripped over something.

Yelling something obscene, Rose grabbed the Doctor's arm and managed to steady herself.

"Yikes Rose, what was the need for that?" His gaze travelled to Rose's feet, and froze.

The 'something' Rose tripped over happened to be a 'someone'. A body lay spread-eagled, half encased in a dark beetle like armour. It's limbs were a light purple, and apart from the colour the body seemed humanoid, though the hair was more thick and tentacle like, obscuring the face.

The Doctor set Rose down and brushed away the hair to reveal two giant bulbous pools of darkness for eyes, still open. Moving back, he noticed the legs of the being for the first time. From the waist down, the figure stopped being humanoid and turned alien. It must have had about six legs- all bunched together like a jellyfish, only now they were bent and twisted at sharp angles where the creature had fallen in it's final resting place.

The Doctor stood up, and ushered for Rose to move on.

"What was that thing?" She whispered in hushed tones.

"I'm not sure," the Doctor replied. "I've never encountered a creature like that one before so this is all new to me too."

They continued on in silence. The dead alien served to remind them how serious the situation was, how much in danger they truly were.

xXx

"Come on, we've tried Baker, Meatloaf, Skids and Razor…we've only got another two left to go before I'm fresh out of ideas." Mickey dragged his feet along the pavement. Most of the toughs had been wary on his appearance at their porches…one of them was currently in hospital, so he'd had a free run of the house.

"Nothing," he'd said to Jack and they'd left. There were too many bad guys living here, he sighed. Maybe when Rose came back, they could… He shook himself free of those thoughts. Rose wasn't going to come back and he knew it. So why was he getting caught up in all this, why was he still hoping?

Glancing at Jack, he saw that he was shivering again. They must be nearer- so it was Paddy's gang Jack had gotten rough with. Mickey whistled. His respect for Jack had increased by a notch.

Turning into a shabby street, he caught the word- _die_ amongst other profanities scrawled across the walls. He hoped that nothing like that would happen…though from what Jack had told him about the Knife…how it would seek it's target to the last atom on the galaxy.

"I'll sort this one out," Jack said to Mickey, indicating that he should wait at the gate.

"Your funeral," Mickey muttered.

Jack had his hand on his blaster as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah, who is this?" A hooded guy answered the door warily. It sounded like there was a guy night in.

"Dammit, did you seen that chick Beth at Stacy's?" Someone called.

"Nah, heard she got that dodgy virus. All strung up too, with your poser of a brother Bobby," another one replied.

"Leave Bobby out of this!"

Jack smiled inwardly. They'd gotten the right place. "Say…you don't know anything about a knife right?" He was praying that they'd forgotten what he looked like. "Only I'm a collector and I heard that there was a real rare one around." _Don't overdo it_…

"Yeah, I got your knife," the youth who'd defended Bobby appeared. It seemed that they were related, probably brothers. The guy had brown hair, spiked up just like Bobby's, only his face was a lot tougher. There was a long scar running down his cheek, and his eyes were narrowed suspiciously.

"What do you want for it?"

"What you got?" The guy challenged back. The hooded guy left the youth and Jack to it.

"You like driving?"

"Sure I do…say, don't I know you from somewhere…?" The kid peered closer at Jack, and he could smell the alcohol in his breath.

"Yeah, I was at Stacy's too," he said hastily.

"Damn good party that was," the kid slurred. "S'where I got my blade from too." He produced the weapon, and Jack recoiled. The blade knew he was here, and it seemed to be straining to get at him.

"Who gave it to you?"

The youth frowned. "Some person all cloaked up. Couldn't see their face. Said they'd…they wanted to get rid of it…but I swear they were purple…they looked sickly, man." He suddenly rounded on Jack. "You gotta help my brother, they said he's in hospital!"

Jack backed away. The guy looked desperate. "Erm…"

"There was this real tosser, took on Paddy's bird so we had to sort him out, know what I mean?" He reeled forward. "Would've showed him too, but the guy was like uber fast…it was _unreal_. Dammit, I shouldn't have run away, I should've stayed to the end, then maybe Bobby…"

"Hey man, I know what happened to Bobby," Jack murmured, an idea springing to mind. The kid was still holding onto the Knife. "That virus…he caught it from…" he tried to imagine someone who'd died. It wasn't hard. "About yay high…grey hair…bit weird…name's…Albert…Albert Einstein."

Mickey kicked himself.

"Einstein huh? Who does this brainiac think he is? I'm gonna kill him when I find him…"

That's right, Jack thought silently to himself as the Knife glowed faintly. Take it away from me. He laughed as he thought of how the Knife would never find it's new target.

"The deal?" Jack said when he was sure the Knife had finished readjusting.

"Oh yeah…"

"A tank for the weapon."

"A tank!" The youth's eyes widened.

"The Rhino, specifically. And here are the keys in good faith," Jack said, dangling a set of keys from his finger. "It's parked up in North Street."

"Woah, deal!" The youth grabbed the keys and tossed the Knife to Jack.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Jack nodded and left with a huge grin.

"The tank?" Mickey cried, running up to meet him. "You mean you didn't return it to the museum?"

"Sure I did," Jack said evenly. "But the kid doesn't know that."

xXx

There was a bright light up ahead. Rose crept towards it, and as she rounded the corner, she saw that the tunnel opened into a cavern bigger than the one she'd arrived in. It was exactly the same as the other one, only this one was buzzing with life. Hundreds of those purple humanoid beings milled about, engrossed in whatever it was they were doing. A bank of monitors lined a wall, and a select group of the creatures were studying them with increased interest.

As the Doctor appeared beside her, the creatures studying the monitors turned as one to face them, weapons cocked.

* * *

Notes:

For the record, I don't know anything about tanks, other than what I've seen on the video game GTA3, so most of the functions and buttons…well the whole tank related thing is kinda made up.

For the alien race, I borrowed some features from the character of Spydra in the cartoon Gadget Boy. I don't know…the image of her just sprang to mind when I was planning this fic.


End file.
